FATHER GEEK explains why MR.SARDONICUS has lost his trademark smile.

Once again Father Geek is the bearer of sad news to the world’s geek community, Hollywood horror screenwriter Ray Russell has died at a Los Angeles nursing home from complications resulting from a stroke at the age of 74. You may not know his name right off the bat, but I know geeks the world over are familar with his 60’s genre work.

Among Russell’s screenplays that became science fiction and horror film favorites with large cult followings were 1961’s “Mr. Sardonicus,” fashioned from his novella for producer William Castle. He wrote in that grand, great gimmick of having the audience vote “thumbs up, or thumbs down” in regard to the film’s ending, but of course there was only one ending filmed, or even written for that matter. Two of his scripts made it to the big screen in 1962, “The Premature Burial,” a lavish Poe series piece for Roger Corman filmed in Panavision with Ray Milland and John Dierkes and “Zotz!,” another effort for Castle’s production company. In 1963 he wrote “The Horror of It All” and in 1966 he adapted “Chamber of Horrors” to the big screen from his original story of a depraved lunatic in a wax museum terrorizing Marie Windsor. This is the remarkable “ruse” film that featured the fantastic “Fear Flasher” and acquainted us with the hideous “Horror Horn”, trickery he obviously had up his sleeve from his days working with the infamous, but still legendary Castle.

Buuuut... Father Geek’s absolute favorite Ray Russell film, the one that if he had only written one movie it would still warrent me eulogizing him here today, is “X... The Man With The X-Ray Eyes.” Made in 1963 for Roger Corman and AIP this low budget science fiction chiller was a step above all the competition for the huge Drive-in theater market that it was aimed at. While dishing out the standard “scientific sins result in doom” formula it differed from the rest of the litter in that the transgressions this time were not nearly as diaphanous as in the run of the mill schlock offered to the teenage audience of the day. The greedy carnival huckster played to perfection by Don Rickles, the fire and brimstone backwoods country preacher rendered wonderfully by John Dierkes, and the film’s mad scientist star Ray Milland are all written with exactitude and show a real love for the subject matter. Now don’t get me wrong this film is no “Exorcist”, “Rosemary’s Baby”, or “Omen”. It is nonetheless exactly what it set out to be, a hell of a fun fright flick with one kickass shocker ending, and we have Ray Russell to thank for that. (By the way if any of you happen to have an extra copy of this film’s beautiful movie poster Ol’ Father Geek sure would like to give it a nice home.) Oh yeah, Tim Burton was all set to film a remake of this tale when he got the “Sleepy Hollow” gig. I hope he hasn’t permanently shelved the idea, his take on Russell’s original script would be very interesting, and I for one would like to see a modern update of that party scene.

Ray was also a periodical writer/editor and anthologist. His prose has appeared in Playboy and many other internationally distributed magazines. Among his several full-blown novels are: “Absolute Power,” “The Case Against Satan,” “Princess Pamela,” ”The Bishop’s Daughter” and 1981’s “Incubus” which became one pretty damn scary, or should I say disturbing, motion picture starring John Cassavates. The crew here at Geek Headquarters love his work on films and in print, Ray we’re going to miss you!